I'm a little mixed on this one, there's not as much Poirot as I'd like, he's mainly relegated to the back half. At points I got a bit bored during the setup, but once the trip to Petra hits I was all in.
Mostly I was annoyed by the psychologist making snap diagnoses. But
What I do like is the fact that the family members love each other so they don't want to see any of the family go to jail and it makes for a much more confusing case for Poirot to unravel.
And yes, I got the murderer wrong on this one until it was all but spelled out.
Reviews and Comments
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urbaer reviewed Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot, #19)
AgathaChristie set this book in Jerusalem. An English family headed by a bullying overbearing mother …
Review of 'Appointment with Death (Hercule Poirot)' on 'GoodReads'
4 stars
urbaer reviewed Poodle Springs by Raymond Chandler
Review of 'Poodle Springs' on 'GoodReads'
3 stars
A quick read. Marlowe is married to Linda, moves out to a desert suburb of Poodle Springs and has to track down a man who seems to be hiding out in LA. The action sees Marlowe flit between LA and Poodle Springs eventually drawing the ire of multiple police departments, shady businessmen and his wife.
The dialogue with Linda is horrid. It tries to keep the snarky banter that you expect from a noir, but it somehow manages to be mean spirited and dull at the same time. Almost as if writing for newlyweds was just too hard for Chandler to pull off (Parker continues in a pretty dull fashion).
And on Parker, there does seem to be some lines that get repeated during the book, mostly his conversations with Linda and it did feel like padding at times. But eh
Despite this it was a decent enough read and …
A quick read. Marlowe is married to Linda, moves out to a desert suburb of Poodle Springs and has to track down a man who seems to be hiding out in LA. The action sees Marlowe flit between LA and Poodle Springs eventually drawing the ire of multiple police departments, shady businessmen and his wife.
The dialogue with Linda is horrid. It tries to keep the snarky banter that you expect from a noir, but it somehow manages to be mean spirited and dull at the same time. Almost as if writing for newlyweds was just too hard for Chandler to pull off (Parker continues in a pretty dull fashion).
And on Parker, there does seem to be some lines that get repeated during the book, mostly his conversations with Linda and it did feel like padding at times. But eh
Despite this it was a decent enough read and maybe I should try reading some of Parker's stuff without Chandler's limitations applied
urbaer rated FEARLESS JONES.: 4 stars
urbaer reviewed A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab
Review of 'A Darker Shade of Magic' on 'GoodReads'
4 stars
When it's not in the Avatar state it presents an interesting set of worlds with some good characters on a decent quest. The ending is a bit of a let down as things seem to quite neatly resolve.
urbaer reviewed Grey Mask by Patricia Wentworth
The first of the classic mysteries featuring governess-turned-detective Miss Silver, who investigates a deadly conspiratorial …
Review of 'Grey Mask' on 'GoodReads'
2 stars
I suppose what I want in a detective novel is following the detective. Sadly Miss Silver barely appears in the book and when she does it's to info dump things the main character couldn't have found out by themselves. There's some sections where you get to see her do field work, but on the whole she just knits.
So the prose is light and easily readable, but there's a bit of slang that tripped me up on occasion.
The male lead is fairly unlikeable, some of this may be as a result of being left at the altar, but eh.
So the mystery then. A grand conspiracy taking place to steal an inheritance. But who is the mastermind of this conspiracy
Sadly it's telegraphed about two thirds of the way through, which made the rest of the book a bit of a slog.
I don't know if this a series …
I suppose what I want in a detective novel is following the detective. Sadly Miss Silver barely appears in the book and when she does it's to info dump things the main character couldn't have found out by themselves. There's some sections where you get to see her do field work, but on the whole she just knits.
So the prose is light and easily readable, but there's a bit of slang that tripped me up on occasion.
The male lead is fairly unlikeable, some of this may be as a result of being left at the altar, but eh.
So the mystery then. A grand conspiracy taking place to steal an inheritance. But who is the mastermind of this conspiracy
Sadly it's telegraphed about two thirds of the way through, which made the rest of the book a bit of a slog.
I don't know if this a series I'll continue. I really didn't feel like I got to know Miss Silver at all, so it's hard to know.
urbaer rated The Real-Town Murders: 3 stars
urbaer rated A Decline in Prophets: 4 stars
Sulari Gentill: A Decline in Prophets (2011, Pantera Press)
A Decline in Prophets by Sulari Gentill
In 1932, the RMS Aquitania embodies all that is gracious and refined, in a world gripped by crisis and doubt. …
urbaer reviewed Aunt Dimity and the village witch by Nancy Atherton
" Nancy Atherton's seventeenth cozy mystery featuring the beloved Aunt Dimity-the original paranormal detective When …
Review of 'Aunt Dimity and the village witch' on 'GoodReads'
2 stars
I'm jumping into this series at this point, so my review might not be entirely fair. The gimmick of Aunt Dimity at first seems clever, but at least here, doesn't add much to the story.
The story mostly revolves around a treasure hunt and I'm not sure that's quite what I was after. It does allow the author to get into the weeds of the history of the village, which I'm sure would be good for readers that have been following the series.
Felt that characters were brought in and then fell to the side. They also didn't feel very fleshed out, though that might be as a result of being deep into a series where your supposed to know what they are like anyway.
It's not for me, but maybe it's for you?
urbaer rated As the pig turns: 3 stars
M. C. Beaton: As the pig turns (2011, Minotaur Books)
As the pig turns by M. C. Beaton
"An irresistible new adventure for the bossy, vain, and endearing Agatha Raisin, from New York Times bestselling M.C. Beaton, "the …
urbaer rated Agatha Raisin and the murderous marriage.: 2 stars
M. C. Beaton: Agatha Raisin and the murderous marriage. (1997, St Martin's Press)
Agatha Raisin and the murderous marriage. by M. C. Beaton (St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries)
urbaer rated Agatha Raisin and the haunted house: 4 stars
Review of 'A Darkling Plain (Mortal Engines Quartet)' on 'GoodReads'
4 stars
Well this was an easier read than books 2 and 3. Everything tends to wrap up nicely, but characters are still a problem in this series.
Review of 'Infernal Devices (Mortal Engines Quartet)' on 'GoodReads'
2 stars
I can't help but feel that Philip is much better at writing about hulking traction cities and flying machines of all descriptions than writing great characters.
It's just really hard to care about his characters when they do such idiotic things. There's one character in the book who makes correct decisions and has a plan that actually works out exactly like the intend and I'm not sure if they're supposed to be liked or not.
Ah, I don't know....
Review of 'Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener (Agatha Raisin 03)' on 'GoodReads'
Having watched two episodes of the TV series a while ago, I had some knowledge of Agatha, so figured shouldn't be too difficult jumping in this deep into the series.
I had no idea who James was (entirely possible that I once knew and forgot), but it really was hard to find anything about him that was likeable. So was kind of unclear why Agatha was exerting so much jealousy and effort into him.
Ack, still apart from the romance elements, which often seemed a little high schoolish, the detective work was fine.
I don't know if I'll try and pick up another in the series though...